US20230115262A1 - Outboard motor and marine vessel that are capable of further improving maintainability of outboard motor - Google Patents
Outboard motor and marine vessel that are capable of further improving maintainability of outboard motor Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20230115262A1 US20230115262A1 US17/955,787 US202217955787A US2023115262A1 US 20230115262 A1 US20230115262 A1 US 20230115262A1 US 202217955787 A US202217955787 A US 202217955787A US 2023115262 A1 US2023115262 A1 US 2023115262A1
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- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- oil
- outboard motor
- cowl
- internal combustion
- combustion engine
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 239000000945 filler Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 48
- 238000002485 combustion reaction Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 30
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 6
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 description 11
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 description 11
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 6
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 6
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 description 5
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000000725 suspension Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000006872 improvement Effects 0.000 description 1
- 150000003839 salts Chemical class 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
- B63H—MARINE PROPULSION OR STEERING
- B63H20/00—Outboard propulsion units, e.g. outboard motors or Z-drives; Arrangements thereof on vessels
- B63H20/32—Housings
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
- F01M—LUBRICATING OF MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; LUBRICATING INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES; CRANKCASE VENTILATING
- F01M11/00—Component parts, details or accessories, not provided for in, or of interest apart from, groups F01M1/00 - F01M9/00
- F01M11/02—Arrangements of lubricant conduits
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
- F01M—LUBRICATING OF MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; LUBRICATING INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES; CRANKCASE VENTILATING
- F01M11/00—Component parts, details or accessories, not provided for in, or of interest apart from, groups F01M1/00 - F01M9/00
- F01M11/03—Mounting or connecting of lubricant purifying means relative to the machine or engine; Details of lubricant purifying means
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
- F01M—LUBRICATING OF MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; LUBRICATING INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES; CRANKCASE VENTILATING
- F01M11/00—Component parts, details or accessories, not provided for in, or of interest apart from, groups F01M1/00 - F01M9/00
- F01M11/10—Indicating devices; Other safety devices
- F01M11/12—Indicating devices; Other safety devices concerning lubricant level
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an outboard motor and a marine vessel.
- an outboard motor equipped with an internal combustion engine there is a demand for performing a light maintenance such as an oil change without detaching the outboard motor from a hull of a marine vessel.
- a light maintenance such as an oil change without detaching the outboard motor from a hull of a marine vessel.
- a plurality of operations such as replacement of an oil filter, feeding new oil from an oil filler, and confirming the amount of fed oil by an oil level gauge (a dip stick) are performed.
- the entire surface of the internal combustion engine is covered with a cowl so that the internal combustion engine is not directly exposed to water. Since it takes time and labor to detach the entire cowl every time the oil change is performed, a maintenance lid is provided on the cowl or the cowl is configured to be dividable or separable. In addition, when performing the oil change, a user or a mechanic opens the maintenance lid or detaches a part of the cowl which is separable, and then accesses the oil filter, the oil filler, and the grip of the oil level gauge.
- the maintenance lid or the part of the cowl which is detachable is located above the internal combustion engine.
- the oil filter, the oil filler, and the grip of the oil level gauge are located on the side of the internal combustion engine, even in the case that the user or the mechanic opens the maintenance lid or detaches a portion of the cowl which is separable, the oil filter, the oil filler, and the grip of the oil level gauge remain covered by the remaining portion of the cowl.
- the user or the mechanic is not able to easily access the oil filter, the oil feeding port of the oil filler, and the grip of the oil level gauge, and there is room for improvement from the viewpoint of improving maintainability.
- Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide outboard motors and marine vessels that are each able to improve the maintainability of the outboard motors.
- an outboard motor attachable to a hull of a marine vessel includes an internal combustion engine and a cowl to cover the internal combustion engine.
- the internal combustion engine includes an oil filler to feed oil thereto and an oil filter to filter the oil.
- the cowl is separable into a top cowl to cover an upper portion of the internal combustion engine and a side cowl to cover a side portion of the internal combustion engine. At least a portion of the oil filler or at least a portion of the oil filter is located above a separating line which is a boundary between the top cowl and the side cowl.
- an outboard motor attachable to a hull of a marine vessel includes an internal combustion engine and a cowl to cover the internal combustion engine.
- the internal combustion engine includes an oil filler to feed oil thereto and an oil filter to filter the oil.
- a portion of the cowl defines a lid body which is detachable from the cowl.
- a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to a bottom of the hull is defined as a vertical direction
- at least a portion of the oil filler or at least a portion of the oil filter is located above a separating line which is a boundary between the lid body and a remaining portion of the cowl.
- a marine vessel includes the outboard motor.
- the portion of the oil filler or at least the portion of the oil filter is located above the separating line, which is the boundary between the top cowl and the side cowl, when the top cowl is detached, at least the portion of the oil filler or at least the portion of the oil filter is no longer covered by the side cowl.
- the user is able to easily access the oil filler and the oil filter, and thus it is possible to further improve the maintainability of the outboard motor.
- FIG. 1 is a side view of a marine vessel to which an outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied.
- FIG. 2 is a side view that schematically shows a configuration of the outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged side view that shows the periphery of an engine in a case that a top cowl is detached from a side cowl.
- FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view that shows the periphery of the engine in the case that the top cowl is detached from the side cowl.
- FIG. 5 is a view when an oil connector is viewed from the side of a crank shaft of the engine.
- FIG. 6 is a side view that schematically shows a configuration of a first modification example of an outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 7 is a side view that schematically shows a configuration of a second modification example of an outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 8 is a side view that schematically shows a configuration of a third modification example of an outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 9 is a side view that schematically shows a configuration of a fourth modification example of an outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 10 is a view that shows a state in which a maintenance lid is detached from a cowl in the outboard motor of FIG. 9 .
- FIG. 1 is a side view of a marine vessel to which an outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied.
- FIG. 2 is a side view that schematically shows a configuration of the outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- a marine vessel 10 may be, for example, a planing boat, and includes a hull 11 and at least one, for example, two outboard motors 12 functioning as propulsion devices attached to the stern of the hull 11 .
- a cabin 13 that functions as a cockpit seat is provided on the hull 11 .
- the outboard motor 12 includes an engine 14 that is an internal combustion engine, a propeller 15 , a propeller shaft 16 to rotate the propeller 15 , and a drive shaft 17 to transmit a drive force of the engine 14 to the propeller shaft 16 .
- the outboard motor 12 applies a thrust to the marine vessel 10 with the propeller 15 rotated by the drive force of the engine 14 .
- the outboard motor 12 is provided with a steering mechanism (not shown), and the steering mechanism adjusts an acting direction of the thrust generated by the outboard motor 12 by swinging the outboard motor 12 substantially horizontally with respect to the hull 11 .
- the outboard motor 12 includes a suspension mechanism 18 that attaches the outboard motor 12 to the stern of the hull 11 .
- the suspension mechanism 18 functions as a lifting mechanism for the outboard motor 12 , and tilts up the outboard motor 12 when the marine vessel 10 is stored.
- the outboard motor 12 includes a cowl 19 that covers the entire surface of the engine 14 so that each element of the engine 14 is not corroded by salt water or the like.
- the cowl 19 also covers the propeller shaft 16 and the drive shaft 17 .
- the cowl 19 is separable. Specifically, the cowl 19 is separable into a top cowl 20 that covers an upper portion of the engine 14 and a side cowl 21 that covers a side portion of the engine 14 .
- the top cowl 20 is detachable from the side cowl 21 , or the top cowl 20 is able to be flipped up with respect to the side cowl 21 by a hinge (not shown) provided at a boundary between the top cowl 20 and the side cowl 21 .
- a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to a bottom of the hull 11 of the marine vessel 10 is defined as a vertical direction.
- This vertical direction is, for example, a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to flat land when the marine vessel 10 is on land, and a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to a water surface when the marine vessel 10 is stopped and floating on the water surface.
- FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged side view that shows the periphery of the engine 14 in a case that the top cowl 20 is detached from the side cowl 21 .
- FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view that shows the periphery of the engine 14 in the case that the top cowl 20 is detached from the side cowl 21 .
- an oil filter 22 that filters oil circulating within the inside of the engine 14 , a tubular oil filler 23 that feeds the oil, and a grip 24 of the oil level gauge are provided on a side surface of the upper portion of the engine 14 .
- the oil filter 22 , the oil filler 23 , and the grip 24 of the oil level gauge are located adjacent or close to each other so that each operation that accompanies the oil change performed by the user is efficiently performed.
- the entire oil filter 22 is located above a separating line 25 which is the boundary between the top cowl 20 and the side cowl 21 . Furthermore, an oil feeding port 23 a and a lid 23 b of the oil filler 23 are also located above the separating line 25 . Moreover, the grip 24 of the oil level gauge is also located above the separating line 25 .
- the oil filter 22 is attached to a cylinder block of the engine 14 via an oil connector 26 .
- the oil filter 22 has a substantially columnar shape, and is able to be attached to and detached from the oil connector 26 by rotating the oil filter 22 around a rotation axis L (see FIG. 4 ) which is a central axis of the oil filter 22 .
- the rotation axis L is tilted with respect to an axial direction C (see FIG. 4 ) of a crank shaft (not shown) of the engine 14 .
- the rotation axis L of the oil filter 22 is tilted with respect to the axial direction C of the crank shaft so that an upper end portion of the oil filter 22 is farther from the engine 14 than a lower end portion of the oil filter 22 (i.e., the upper end portion of the oil filter 22 is located farther outside the engine 14 than the lower end portion of the oil filter 22 ).
- the user who holds an upper end of the oil filter 22 directly or by a tool and rotates the oil filter 22 is able to easily hold the upper end of the oil filter 22 , and thus it is possible to improve the workability of replacing the oil filter 22 .
- the axial direction C of the crank shaft shown in FIG. 4 does not indicate a position of the crank shaft, but indicates an axial direction parallel to the crank shaft.
- the oil filler 23 has a cylindrical shape.
- a central axis of the oil filler 23 is substantially parallel to the rotation axis L of the oil filter 22 , and an angle formed by the central axis of the oil filler 23 and the rotation axis L of the oil filter 22 is, for example, about 15° or less.
- the user is able to access the oil filter 22 and the oil filler 23 from substantially the same angle, and thus it is possible to improve the workability.
- the central axis of the oil filler 23 is also tilted with respect to the axial direction C of the crank shaft so that an upper portion of the oil filler 23 is farther from the engine 14 than a lower portion of the oil filler 23 .
- the user who opens the lid 23 b of the oil feeding port 23 a located at an upper end of the oil filler 23 and feeds the oil to the engine 14 is able to easily insert an oil supply port of an oil jug (not shown) into the oil feeding port 23 a , and thus it is possible to improve the workability of feeding the oil to the engine 14 .
- FIG. 5 is a view when the oil connector 26 is viewed from the side of the crank shaft of the engine 14 .
- the oil filter 22 and the oil filler 23 are attached to the oil connector 26 .
- the oil filter 22 is attached to the oil connector 26 via the lower end portion having an opening (not shown), and the oil connector 26 is provided with a wall-shaped oil receiver 26 a so as to surround the lower end portion of the attached oil filter 22 .
- the oil filter 22 is detached from the oil connector 26 , sometimes the oil remaining in the inside of the oil filter 22 will drip from the opening to an oil filter attaching portion (not shown) of the oil connector 26 .
- the oil receiver 26 a prevents the dripping oil from overflowing from the oil filter attaching portion, it is possible to prevent the oil from falling into a gap between the engine 14 and the side cowl 21 .
- the oil dripping on the oil filter attaching portion flows into an oil introduction path 26 b and a return flow path 26 c , which will be described below.
- the oil connector 26 includes the oil introduction path 26 b that allows the oil to flow toward the oil filter 22 (an arrow in FIG. 5 indicates the flow of the oil), the return flow path 26 c that returns the oil filtered by the oil filter 22 to the cylinder block, and an oil supply path 26 d that supplies the oil, which is fed from the oil feeding port 23 a of the oil filler 23 , to a crank chamber (not shown) of the engine 14 .
- the oil pressurized by an oil pump flows through the oil introduction path 26 b and the return flow path 26 c , the oil introduction path 26 b and the return flow path 26 c are independent of the oil supply path 26 d . As a result, it is possible to prevent the pressurized oil from flowing into the oil supply path 26 d and eventually blown out from the oil feeding port 23 a of the oil filler 23 .
- the entire oil filter 22 , the oil feeding port 23 a and the lid 23 b of the oil filler 23 , and the grip 24 of the oil level gauge are located above the separating line 25 which is the boundary between the top cowl 20 and the side cowl 21 .
- the user is able to easily access the oil filter 22 , the oil feeding port 23 a and the lid 23 b of the oil filler 23 , and the grip 24 of the oil level gauge, and thus it is possible to perform various kinds of operations that accompany the oil change as a series of operations, and it is possible to further improve the maintainability of the outboard motor 12 .
- the user accesses the oil filter 22 , the oil feeding port 23 a and the lid 23 b of the oil filler 23 , and the grip 24 of the oil level gauge, it is not necessary to detach the entire cowl 19 , and only the top cowl 20 needs to be detached. From this point as well, it is possible to further improve the maintainability of the outboard motor 12 .
- the present invention is not limited to this and at least an upper half of the oil filter 22 may be located above the separating line 25 .
- the following equation (1) needs to be satisfied.
- the user when the top cowl 20 is detached, the user is able to access the upper end of the oil filter 22 and easily replace the oil filter 22 . Further, in this case, it is possible to lower a position of the oil filter 22 , and for example, the upper end of the oil filter 22 may be located below an upper end of the engine 14 . As a result, it becomes easier to secure a space above the engine 14 , so that it is possible to facilitate a layout of auxiliary equipment of the engine 14 .
- the oil feeding port 23 a and the lid 23 b of the oil filler 23 may be located above the separating line 25 .
- the user since the user is able to easily access the oil feeding port 23 a and the lid 23 b of the oil filler 23 , it is possible to at least improve the workability of the feeding the oil.
- the grip 24 of the oil level gauge may be located above the separating line 25 .
- the grip 24 of the oil level gauge since the user is able to easily access the grip 24 of the oil level gauge, it is possible to at least improve the workability of confirming the amount of the oil.
- At least one of the upper end of the oil filter 22 , the oil feeding port 23 a and the lid 23 b of the oil filler 23 , and the grip 24 of the oil level gauge may be located above the separating line 25 .
- the cowl 19 is separable into the top cowl 20 and the side cowl 21 , as shown in FIG. 9 , the cowl 19 may not be separable, and a portion of an upper portion of the cowl 19 may define a maintenance lid 27 (a lid body) which is detachable.
- a maintenance lid 27 a lid body
- at least one of the upper end of the oil filter 22 , the oil feeding port 23 a and the lid 23 b of the oil filler 23 , and the grip 24 of the oil level gauge may be located above a separating line 28 , which is a boundary between the maintenance lid 27 and a remaining portion of the cowl 19 .
- FIG. 10 is a view that shows a case in which the grip 24 of the oil level gauge is located below the separating line 28 and the upper end of the oil filter 22 and the lid 23 b of the oil filler 23 are located above the separating line 28 .
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
- Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
- Lubrication Details And Ventilation Of Internal Combustion Engines (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- This application claims the benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-167604, filed on Oct. 12, 2021. The entire contents of this application are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
- The present invention relates to an outboard motor and a marine vessel.
- In an outboard motor equipped with an internal combustion engine, there is a demand for performing a light maintenance such as an oil change without detaching the outboard motor from a hull of a marine vessel. During the oil change, a plurality of operations such as replacement of an oil filter, feeding new oil from an oil filler, and confirming the amount of fed oil by an oil level gauge (a dip stick) are performed.
- Therefore, in order to easily perform the plurality of operations that accompany the oil change, it is known that in the outboard motor, the oil filter, an oil feeding port of the oil filler, and a grip of the oil level gauge are located so as to be adjacent to each other (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 10,723,427).
- In the outboard motor, the entire surface of the internal combustion engine is covered with a cowl so that the internal combustion engine is not directly exposed to water. Since it takes time and labor to detach the entire cowl every time the oil change is performed, a maintenance lid is provided on the cowl or the cowl is configured to be dividable or separable. In addition, when performing the oil change, a user or a mechanic opens the maintenance lid or detaches a part of the cowl which is separable, and then accesses the oil filter, the oil filler, and the grip of the oil level gauge.
- However, the maintenance lid or the part of the cowl which is detachable is located above the internal combustion engine. On the other hand, since the oil filter, the oil filler, and the grip of the oil level gauge are located on the side of the internal combustion engine, even in the case that the user or the mechanic opens the maintenance lid or detaches a portion of the cowl which is separable, the oil filter, the oil filler, and the grip of the oil level gauge remain covered by the remaining portion of the cowl.
- Therefore, the user or the mechanic is not able to easily access the oil filter, the oil feeding port of the oil filler, and the grip of the oil level gauge, and there is room for improvement from the viewpoint of improving maintainability.
- Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide outboard motors and marine vessels that are each able to improve the maintainability of the outboard motors.
- According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an outboard motor attachable to a hull of a marine vessel includes an internal combustion engine and a cowl to cover the internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine includes an oil filler to feed oil thereto and an oil filter to filter the oil. In a case that a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to a bottom of the hull is a vertical direction, the cowl is separable into a top cowl to cover an upper portion of the internal combustion engine and a side cowl to cover a side portion of the internal combustion engine. At least a portion of the oil filler or at least a portion of the oil filter is located above a separating line which is a boundary between the top cowl and the side cowl.
- According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, an outboard motor attachable to a hull of a marine vessel includes an internal combustion engine and a cowl to cover the internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine includes an oil filler to feed oil thereto and an oil filter to filter the oil. A portion of the cowl defines a lid body which is detachable from the cowl. In a case that a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to a bottom of the hull is defined as a vertical direction, at least a portion of the oil filler or at least a portion of the oil filter is located above a separating line which is a boundary between the lid body and a remaining portion of the cowl.
- According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a marine vessel includes the outboard motor.
- According to the preferred embodiments of the present invention described above, since at least the portion of the oil filler or at least the portion of the oil filter is located above the separating line, which is the boundary between the top cowl and the side cowl, when the top cowl is detached, at least the portion of the oil filler or at least the portion of the oil filter is no longer covered by the side cowl. As a result, the user is able to easily access the oil filler and the oil filter, and thus it is possible to further improve the maintainability of the outboard motor.
- The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
-
FIG. 1 is a side view of a marine vessel to which an outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied. -
FIG. 2 is a side view that schematically shows a configuration of the outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged side view that shows the periphery of an engine in a case that a top cowl is detached from a side cowl. -
FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view that shows the periphery of the engine in the case that the top cowl is detached from the side cowl. -
FIG. 5 is a view when an oil connector is viewed from the side of a crank shaft of the engine. -
FIG. 6 is a side view that schematically shows a configuration of a first modification example of an outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 7 is a side view that schematically shows a configuration of a second modification example of an outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 8 is a side view that schematically shows a configuration of a third modification example of an outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 9 is a side view that schematically shows a configuration of a fourth modification example of an outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 10 is a view that shows a state in which a maintenance lid is detached from a cowl in the outboard motor ofFIG. 9 . - Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
-
FIG. 1 is a side view of a marine vessel to which an outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied.FIG. 2 is a side view that schematically shows a configuration of the outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. - As shown in
FIG. 1 , amarine vessel 10 may be, for example, a planing boat, and includes ahull 11 and at least one, for example, twooutboard motors 12 functioning as propulsion devices attached to the stern of thehull 11. Acabin 13 that functions as a cockpit seat is provided on thehull 11. Theoutboard motor 12 includes anengine 14 that is an internal combustion engine, apropeller 15, apropeller shaft 16 to rotate thepropeller 15, and adrive shaft 17 to transmit a drive force of theengine 14 to thepropeller shaft 16. Theoutboard motor 12 applies a thrust to themarine vessel 10 with thepropeller 15 rotated by the drive force of theengine 14. - The
outboard motor 12 is provided with a steering mechanism (not shown), and the steering mechanism adjusts an acting direction of the thrust generated by theoutboard motor 12 by swinging theoutboard motor 12 substantially horizontally with respect to thehull 11. In addition, as shown inFIG. 2 , theoutboard motor 12 includes asuspension mechanism 18 that attaches theoutboard motor 12 to the stern of thehull 11. Thesuspension mechanism 18 functions as a lifting mechanism for theoutboard motor 12, and tilts up theoutboard motor 12 when themarine vessel 10 is stored. - Although a large amount of splashing is applied to the
outboard motor 12, as shown inFIG. 2 , theoutboard motor 12 includes acowl 19 that covers the entire surface of theengine 14 so that each element of theengine 14 is not corroded by salt water or the like. In addition to theengine 14, thecowl 19 also covers thepropeller shaft 16 and thedrive shaft 17. - As is well known, it is necessary to perform a light maintenance on a regular basis with respect to the
engine 14, and in the light maintenance, for example, the oil of theengine 14 is changed (i.e., an oil change of theengine 14 is performed). When performing the oil change of theengine 14, a plurality of operations such as replacement of an oil filter attached to theengine 14, feeding new oil from an oil filler, and confirming the amount of fed oil by an oil level gauge are performed. However, when performing the operations that accompany the oil change of theengine 14, since a user or a mechanic accesses the oil filter, the oil filler, and the oil level gauge, detaching all of thecowl 19 from theoutboard motor 12 is a heavy burden. Therefore, in theoutboard motor 12, thecowl 19 is separable. Specifically, thecowl 19 is separable into atop cowl 20 that covers an upper portion of theengine 14 and aside cowl 21 that covers a side portion of theengine 14. Thetop cowl 20 is detachable from theside cowl 21, or thetop cowl 20 is able to be flipped up with respect to theside cowl 21 by a hinge (not shown) provided at a boundary between thetop cowl 20 and theside cowl 21. - In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to a bottom of the
hull 11 of themarine vessel 10 is defined as a vertical direction. This vertical direction is, for example, a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to flat land when themarine vessel 10 is on land, and a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to a water surface when themarine vessel 10 is stopped and floating on the water surface. -
FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged side view that shows the periphery of theengine 14 in a case that thetop cowl 20 is detached from theside cowl 21.FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view that shows the periphery of theengine 14 in the case that thetop cowl 20 is detached from theside cowl 21. - As shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4 , anoil filter 22 that filters oil circulating within the inside of theengine 14, atubular oil filler 23 that feeds the oil, and agrip 24 of the oil level gauge are provided on a side surface of the upper portion of theengine 14. Theoil filter 22, theoil filler 23, and thegrip 24 of the oil level gauge are located adjacent or close to each other so that each operation that accompanies the oil change performed by the user is efficiently performed. - Further, as shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4 , theentire oil filter 22 is located above a separatingline 25 which is the boundary between thetop cowl 20 and theside cowl 21. Furthermore, anoil feeding port 23 a and alid 23 b of theoil filler 23 are also located above the separatingline 25. Moreover, thegrip 24 of the oil level gauge is also located above the separatingline 25. - The
oil filter 22 is attached to a cylinder block of theengine 14 via anoil connector 26. Theoil filter 22 has a substantially columnar shape, and is able to be attached to and detached from theoil connector 26 by rotating theoil filter 22 around a rotation axis L (seeFIG. 4 ) which is a central axis of theoil filter 22. The rotation axis L is tilted with respect to an axial direction C (seeFIG. 4 ) of a crank shaft (not shown) of theengine 14. Specifically, the rotation axis L of theoil filter 22 is tilted with respect to the axial direction C of the crank shaft so that an upper end portion of theoil filter 22 is farther from theengine 14 than a lower end portion of the oil filter 22 (i.e., the upper end portion of theoil filter 22 is located farther outside theengine 14 than the lower end portion of the oil filter 22). As a result, the user who holds an upper end of theoil filter 22 directly or by a tool and rotates theoil filter 22 is able to easily hold the upper end of theoil filter 22, and thus it is possible to improve the workability of replacing theoil filter 22. It should be noted that the axial direction C of the crank shaft shown inFIG. 4 does not indicate a position of the crank shaft, but indicates an axial direction parallel to the crank shaft. - The
oil filler 23 has a cylindrical shape. A central axis of theoil filler 23 is substantially parallel to the rotation axis L of theoil filter 22, and an angle formed by the central axis of theoil filler 23 and the rotation axis L of theoil filter 22 is, for example, about 15° or less. As a result, the user is able to access theoil filter 22 and theoil filler 23 from substantially the same angle, and thus it is possible to improve the workability. - As with the
oil filter 22, the central axis of theoil filler 23 is also tilted with respect to the axial direction C of the crank shaft so that an upper portion of theoil filler 23 is farther from theengine 14 than a lower portion of theoil filler 23. As a result, the user who opens thelid 23 b of theoil feeding port 23 a located at an upper end of theoil filler 23 and feeds the oil to theengine 14 is able to easily insert an oil supply port of an oil jug (not shown) into theoil feeding port 23 a, and thus it is possible to improve the workability of feeding the oil to theengine 14. -
FIG. 5 is a view when theoil connector 26 is viewed from the side of the crank shaft of theengine 14. InFIG. 5 , theoil filter 22 and theoil filler 23 are attached to theoil connector 26. - The
oil filter 22 is attached to theoil connector 26 via the lower end portion having an opening (not shown), and theoil connector 26 is provided with a wall-shapedoil receiver 26 a so as to surround the lower end portion of the attachedoil filter 22. When theoil filter 22 is detached from theoil connector 26, sometimes the oil remaining in the inside of theoil filter 22 will drip from the opening to an oil filter attaching portion (not shown) of theoil connector 26. However, since theoil receiver 26 a prevents the dripping oil from overflowing from the oil filter attaching portion, it is possible to prevent the oil from falling into a gap between theengine 14 and theside cowl 21. The oil dripping on the oil filter attaching portion flows into anoil introduction path 26 b and areturn flow path 26 c, which will be described below. - In addition, the
oil connector 26 includes theoil introduction path 26 b that allows the oil to flow toward the oil filter 22 (an arrow inFIG. 5 indicates the flow of the oil), thereturn flow path 26 c that returns the oil filtered by theoil filter 22 to the cylinder block, and anoil supply path 26 d that supplies the oil, which is fed from theoil feeding port 23 a of theoil filler 23, to a crank chamber (not shown) of theengine 14. - Although the oil pressurized by an oil pump (not shown) flows through the
oil introduction path 26 b and thereturn flow path 26 c, theoil introduction path 26 b and thereturn flow path 26 c are independent of theoil supply path 26 d. As a result, it is possible to prevent the pressurized oil from flowing into theoil supply path 26 d and eventually blown out from theoil feeding port 23 a of theoil filler 23. - According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
entire oil filter 22, theoil feeding port 23 a and thelid 23 b of theoil filler 23, and thegrip 24 of the oil level gauge are located above the separatingline 25 which is the boundary between thetop cowl 20 and theside cowl 21. As a result, when thetop cowl 20 is detached from theside cowl 21, the user is able to easily access theoil filter 22, theoil feeding port 23 a and thelid 23 b of theoil filler 23, and thegrip 24 of the oil level gauge, and thus it is possible to perform various kinds of operations that accompany the oil change as a series of operations, and it is possible to further improve the maintainability of theoutboard motor 12. - In addition, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, since the user accesses the
oil filter 22, theoil feeding port 23 a and thelid 23 b of theoil filler 23, and thegrip 24 of the oil level gauge, it is not necessary to detach theentire cowl 19, and only thetop cowl 20 needs to be detached. From this point as well, it is possible to further improve the maintainability of theoutboard motor 12. - Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described preferred embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope and the gist thereof.
- For example, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention described above, although the
entire oil filter 22 is located above the separatingline 25, the present invention is not limited to this and at least an upper half of theoil filter 22 may be located above the separatingline 25. Specifically, as shown inFIG. 6 , in a case that it is assumed that a length of a portion of theoil filter 22 existing above the separatingline 25 is A and the total length of theoil filter 22 is B, only the following equation (1) needs to be satisfied. -
2×A≥B (1) - In this case, when the
top cowl 20 is detached, the user is able to access the upper end of theoil filter 22 and easily replace theoil filter 22. Further, in this case, it is possible to lower a position of theoil filter 22, and for example, the upper end of theoil filter 22 may be located below an upper end of theengine 14. As a result, it becomes easier to secure a space above theengine 14, so that it is possible to facilitate a layout of auxiliary equipment of theengine 14. - Furthermore, as shown in
FIG. 7 , even in a case that the upper half of theoil filter 22 is not located above the separatingline 25, theoil feeding port 23 a and thelid 23 b of theoil filler 23 may be located above the separatingline 25. As a result, since the user is able to easily access theoil feeding port 23 a and thelid 23 b of theoil filler 23, it is possible to at least improve the workability of the feeding the oil. - Moreover, as shown in
FIG. 8 , even in a case that the upper half of theoil filter 22 is not located above the separatingline 25 and theoil feeding port 23 a and thelid 23 b of theoil filler 23 are located below the separatingline 25, thegrip 24 of the oil level gauge may be located above the separatingline 25. As a result, since the user is able to easily access thegrip 24 of the oil level gauge, it is possible to at least improve the workability of confirming the amount of the oil. - That is, at least one of the upper end of the
oil filter 22, theoil feeding port 23 a and thelid 23 b of theoil filler 23, and thegrip 24 of the oil level gauge may be located above the separatingline 25. - Further, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, although the
cowl 19 is separable into thetop cowl 20 and theside cowl 21, as shown inFIG. 9 , thecowl 19 may not be separable, and a portion of an upper portion of thecowl 19 may define a maintenance lid 27 (a lid body) which is detachable. In this case, at least one of the upper end of theoil filter 22, theoil feeding port 23 a and thelid 23 b of theoil filler 23, and thegrip 24 of the oil level gauge may be located above a separatingline 28, which is a boundary between themaintenance lid 27 and a remaining portion of thecowl 19. Moreover,FIG. 10 is a view that shows a case in which thegrip 24 of the oil level gauge is located below the separatingline 28 and the upper end of theoil filter 22 and thelid 23 b of theoil filler 23 are located above the separatingline 28. - As a result, when the
maintenance lid 27 is detached from thecowl 19, at least one of the upper end of theoil filter 22, theoil feeding port 23 a and thelid 23 b of theoil filler 23, and thegrip 24 of the oil level gauge is exposed to the outside of theoutboard motor 12 and is easily accessible by the user. Therefore, it is possible to further improve the efficiency of the operations that accompany the oil change. - While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.
Claims (15)
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JP2021167604A JP2023057876A (en) | 2021-10-12 | 2021-10-12 | Outboard engine and ship |
JP2021-167604 | 2021-10-12 |
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US20230115262A1 true US20230115262A1 (en) | 2023-04-13 |
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Citations (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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US20020111090A1 (en) * | 2001-02-14 | 2002-08-15 | Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Outboard marine drive with an internal combustion engine |
CA2695058A1 (en) * | 2009-04-15 | 2010-10-15 | Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | Engine for outboard motor |
US10065722B1 (en) * | 2015-11-24 | 2018-09-04 | Brunswick Corporation | Apparatuses and methods for servicing lubrication in a lower gearcase of an outboard marine engine |
US10723427B1 (en) * | 2019-06-10 | 2020-07-28 | Brunswick Corporation | Oil filter assemblies |
JP7147349B2 (en) * | 2018-08-09 | 2022-10-05 | スズキ株式会社 | Outboard motor |
US11572145B1 (en) * | 2021-02-09 | 2023-02-07 | Brunswick Corporation | Top-down serviceable outboard motors |
Family Cites Families (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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JP3360979B2 (en) | 1995-08-03 | 2003-01-07 | 三信工業株式会社 | Lubricating oil supply structure for 4-cycle outboard motor |
JP3511848B2 (en) | 1997-06-06 | 2004-03-29 | スズキ株式会社 | Outboard motor |
-
2021
- 2021-10-12 JP JP2021167604A patent/JP2023057876A/en active Pending
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2022
- 2022-09-29 US US17/955,787 patent/US11939894B2/en active Active
Patent Citations (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20020111090A1 (en) * | 2001-02-14 | 2002-08-15 | Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Outboard marine drive with an internal combustion engine |
CA2695058A1 (en) * | 2009-04-15 | 2010-10-15 | Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | Engine for outboard motor |
CA2695058C (en) * | 2009-04-15 | 2012-06-12 | Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | Engine for outboard motor |
US10065722B1 (en) * | 2015-11-24 | 2018-09-04 | Brunswick Corporation | Apparatuses and methods for servicing lubrication in a lower gearcase of an outboard marine engine |
JP7147349B2 (en) * | 2018-08-09 | 2022-10-05 | スズキ株式会社 | Outboard motor |
US10723427B1 (en) * | 2019-06-10 | 2020-07-28 | Brunswick Corporation | Oil filter assemblies |
US11572145B1 (en) * | 2021-02-09 | 2023-02-07 | Brunswick Corporation | Top-down serviceable outboard motors |
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US11939894B2 (en) | 2024-03-26 |
JP2023057876A (en) | 2023-04-24 |
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